BAYOU & PLANTATION (Day 6 - part 5)

When Jacques and Celina acquired the plantation in 1836, it had 57 field slaves. Jacque immediately purchased 49 more from his mother's estate auction. There used to be 20 cabins which served as housing. Only 6 stand now, but these are reproductions using original cedar.

The quarters served as "doubles' (a single building split in two) which housed 2 - 5 people per side.

At the end of the 1800s, cabins were covered with a mixture of line and water (called whitewash) to make them look clean.

House slaves served the Roman family. They ran errands, served dinner and watched the children. While less physically demanding than field work, the days were often longer.

Pognon worked as a seamstress and hairdresser for Celina and her daughters. She wore better clothes and shoes than most slaves and always had to be neat and presentable since she represented the family's wealth. She had to constantly be at their beck and call.

Laundry kettles were similar in size to sugar kettles. They were positioned near the kitchen or work area. Making soap was a dangerous job. First, lye was made by dripping boiling water over ashes, creating a toxic sludge. When it was strong enough the dissolve a goose feather, animal fat was added and it was left to harden into soap. With each load of laundry, the lye soap left chemical burns on the hands and arms of the washer-women.

If a slave fell ill, they were taken to the Sick House. Minor colds and injuries could be taken care of by slave nurses. The house was sparsely furnished and poorly supplied. They were unsanitary due to dirty chamber pots, and contagious illnesses and viruses could spread quickly. A patient was at equal risk from dying from the conditions as from the problem itself.

Difficult cases were treated by a doctor who lived at the neighboring plantation. A former surgeon in Napoleon's army, Dr. Merricq was an expert at amputations. Accidents were common on sugar plantations and it was easier to amputate than repair a fractured bone.

Field slaves began their work at dawn, so they weren't given their first meal until midmorning. Lunch was also eaten communally. Multiple cooking kettles were needed to make enough food. Only after the day was over, could the slaves return to their quarters to eat in private. ... Marie was a slave to the Roman family her entire life. While most cooks were house slaves, she was considered a laborer since her job was cooking for the field slaves.... a job seen not as important as cooking for the family.

After working 12-14 hours per day, the food rations they received were very inadequate. They were at least allowed to plant their own gardens, ranging from 1/2 to 1 acre in size, which they tended to at night. They could also raise chickens and pigs as well. Some slaves would sell off a portion of their corn to the Romans as animal feed. With the money, they could attempt to improve the quality of their lives.

Emilia was a field slave responsible for jobs such as digging ditches, repairing roads and even maintaining the levee. She and her 5 children lived in one of the worst houses. Slaves couldn't marry but they were encouraged to have kids, since this was essentially free labor then.

Zephyr was the only enslaved laborer who Jacques freed. Having originally belonged to Louise (Jacques' mother), Zephyr was brought here with his wife Zaire and two sons, Antoine and Bacchus, in 1836. Because his mother praised him so highly for his service, Jacques filed for his freedom (Zephyr could not read or write). This was a lengthy process. Even after he was a free man, he continued working on the plantation to be with his family. After 10 years, he'd saved up the $350 needed to purchase Zaire. He was 70 and she was 60. They both, however, remained on the plantation 1) because their children were still slaves and 2) at such an old age, it was highly unlikely they could have earned enough money to live independently. In a census years later, a widower named Zephyr Roman was listed as being 100 years old.

Antoine was 25 when he arrived here. He had immense skills and a gardener and mastered the techniques of grafting,. After many trials he succeeded in producing a variety of pecan with a shell so thin that it could be cracked with one's bare hands. The pecan was once a considerable cash crop but the trees were cleared for more sugar cane fields after the Civil War.

Pret-a-boire was born into slavery around 1799. He as first a house slave, then demoted to an ox-cart driver, and finally down to the lowest class, a field slave. With each demotion, his life became more difficult. He got fewer clothes, harder jobs and worked longer hours. His health also got worse, leaving him with debilitating rheumatism and asthma.

One of the cabins was set up as a museum.

Plantation tools were crude and often caused permanent damage. the repetitive motion of pushing and pulling a hoe while in a hunched-over position frequently caused back injuries. Cane knives (sharp machetes) resulted in many accidents and mutilations.

Sugar cane harvesting

Other jobs

Along with working with animals, slaves were also responsible for their care and well-being. In 1848, the Romans owned 37 oxen, 27 cart horses and 19 mules. It took a lot of extra time at the end of each day to feed, water and settle them in their pens. Older slaves were responsible for herding and grazing the flocks of sheep, pigs and mild cows.

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